"Mothership Connection" is a funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

 song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 by Parliament

Parliament (band)

Parliament was a funk band most prominent during the 1970s. It and its sister act Funkadelic, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...

. It was the third and last single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 released from the group's 1976

1976 in music

-January–February:*January 5 – Former Beatles road manager Mal Evans is shot dead by Los Angeles police after refusing to drop what police only later determine is an air rifle....

 album Mothership Connection

Mothership Connection

In 2003 the TV network VH1 named Mothership Connection the 55th greatest album of all time.In 2003, the album was ranked number 274 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time....

. The song introduces George Clinton

George Clinton (funk musician)

George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...

's messianic alien alter ego

Alter ego

An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...

 Star Child for the first time (see P-Funk mythology

P-Funk mythology

The P-Funk mythology is a group of recurring fictional characters, themes and ideas related in a series of concept albums and live shows, primarily from George Clinton and his founded bands Parliament and Funkadelic....

).

The lyrics

Lyrics

Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...

 "Swing down, sweet chariot, stop and let me ride" quote the traditional spiritual

Spiritual (music)

Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...

 "Swing Down, Chariot

Swing Down Sweet Chariot

Swing Down Sweet Chariot is a traditional spiritual song, a humorous variation of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.Popularised by the Golden Gate Quartet in the 1940s, it was recorded by Elvis Presley for his 1960 album His Hand in Mine then recorded for his 1969 film The Trouble with Girls. This latter...

", first popularized in the 1940s by The Golden Gate Quartet

The Golden Gate Quartet

The Golden Gate Quartet is an American vocal group. It was formed in 1934 and, with changes in membership, remains active. It is the most successful of all of the African-American gospel music groups who sang in the jubilee quartet style...

 and later recorded by Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

 among others (and not the better-known spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is a historic African-American spiritual. The first recording was in 1909, by the Fisk Jubilee Singers of Fisk University....

").

The track "Let Me Ride

Let Me Ride

"Let Me Ride" is the third single released by Dr. Dre from his 1992 album The Chronic. It experienced moderate success on the charts until it became a hit after Dr. Dre won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance during the Grammy Awards of 1994. Snoop Doggy Dogg is involved for a "Rollin' in...

" on the Dr. Dre

Dr. Dre

Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...

 album The Chronic

The Chronic

The Chronic is the solo debut album of American hip hop artist Dr. Dre, released December 15, 1992, on his own record label Death Row Records, and distributed by Priority Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in June 1992 at Death Row Studios in Los Angeles and at Bernie Grundman...

is heavily based on samples

Sampling (music)

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

 from this song.

Alternate titles

The song was titled simply "Star Child" on its single release, while the radio promo version was titled "Star Child (Mothership Connection)."

On the album Live: P-Funk Earth Tour

Live: P-Funk Earth Tour

Live: P-Funk Earth Tour is a 1977 Parliament live double album that documents the band's P-Funk Earth Tour of that year. The performances include songs from Parliament's albums through The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein as well as songs from the Funkadelic repertoire...

the song is split into two tracks, "Mothership Connection (Star Child)" and "Swing Down, Sweet Chariot."

Cover versions

In 1990, bassist Stanley Clarke

Stanley Clarke

Stanley Clarke is an American jazz musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and electric bass guitar as well as for his numerous film and television scores...

 and keyboardist George Duke

George Duke

George Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...

released an album entitled "3," which contained a cover of this song.